


Give You My Wild

by thetomkatwholived



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crushes, Friends to Lovers, Idiots in Love, Jealousy, M/M, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:48:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26225188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thetomkatwholived/pseuds/thetomkatwholived
Summary: David's birthday dinner didn't end up going according to Patrick's plan, leaving both men to believe the other wasn't interested. An unexpected date may just be the push these two need to see what is right in front of them.
Relationships: Jake/David Rose (mentioned), Patrick Brewer/David Rose
Comments: 20
Kudos: 164





	Give You My Wild

**Author's Note:**

> This idea came to me one night, and I, for some reason, kept thinking I could never write it. Except, I could write it and I did write it and here it is. It's all horribly self-indulgent because it's just a story I wanted to read; no one asked for this other than my own brain. So here's this for you all as well! It takes place a few weeks after David's birthday in an alternate timeline where Stevie stayed for dinner, so it never reached its full date potential. I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Huge thanks to [filthysweetie](http:/filthysweetie.tumblr.com/) and [what-in-the-heck-is-happening](http:/what-in-the-heck-is-happening.tumblr.com/) for giving this a read and helping me improve it!
> 
> The title is from peace by Taylor Swift because all I do is listen to folklore and obsess over Schitt's Creek. Despite the continuation of the line in the song, there are no children in this fic.

“So, uh, who was that?” Patrick’s question broke through David’s haze and brought his attention back to him and the store, away from the man currently making his way towards the Cafe.

“Oh, that’s just Jake.” David fiddled with the lip balms, trying to be nonchalant.

“You guys seemed pretty close.” While Patrick’s tone was teasing, his expression was slightly guarded and seemed to betray his true feelings. Whatever those may be.

“Yeah, um, we used to kind of date. I guess, or whatever. It was pretty casual.”

“Huh. That explains the kiss in greeting.” Was there a touch of bitterness there?

David made his way around the register and towards Patrick on the sales floor, stopping a few feet away. He wasn’t sure why he felt he needed to be closer to Patrick. Well, that wasn’t true, he always wanted to be closer to Patrick. It just felt odd to be closer for this particular moment, “He’s very friendly. And familiar. Um, we’re going to get dinner tonight, I guess.”

Patrick’s eyes grew wide as he gave a shaky nod, “Oh, yeah, cool.”

“So, I was hoping maybe I could leave a bit early today. Just to get ready or whatever.” David didn’t particularly care about looking good for Jake; the evening would end in someone’s bed regardless. It was more that he wasn’t sure he could handle going straight to a date with someone else after just being with Patrick. He was sure that would only emphasize how much more he felt for Patrick.

Patrick’s face fell, only minutely, but still noticeably. David wanted to take it all back, to never see Patrick’s face fall again. “Um, yeah, that’s… yeah.”

Before David could respond, Patrick shouldered around him to go to the backroom, mumbling something about inventory. David watched him retreat, trying to tamp down his longing.

*******

They worked in relative silence for the rest of the day, only breaking it to ask simple questions. David noticed Patrick was tense and closed off, giving short answers and effectively shutting down any attempt David made to extend the conversation.

“Patrick?” The man in question glanced up from where he was presumably working on a spreadsheet by the register. “It’s 3:45 so I was going to head out now if that’s okay with you.”

“You don’t need my permission to leave your own store to get ready for a date,” Patrick refocused on his computer, once again shutting down the conversation. 

Or trying to, at least. David wasn’t going to let that slide, “This is our store, so yes, I’d like my business partner to have a say in this decision. And it’s not a date, just two people getting dinner.”

“Hm, no Stevie this time?” Patrick seemed to regret his question as soon as it was asked.

David, however, was taken aback. “How did you know about that?”

Patrick looked incredulous, almost daring David to take back his question. “How did I know? David, I was there!”

“You were there?” David quickly pushed away the naughty (and definitely not unwelcome) thoughts that sprang to mind at the implication.

“Wow, I know you rejected me, but you really don’t have to be so cruel about it,” Patrick sounded resigned and broken, further confusing and upsetting David.

“Reject you? When did I _reject_ you?” When had he ever been in a position to potentially reject Patrick? Because if David had ever been in such a position, rejection would be the very last thing on his mind. David had spent months practically pining over Patrick, reveling in the full days he got to spend with him and the late-night phone calls, even if they were strictly work-related. 

While initially, David had been attracted to Patrick in a way he normally would be with most pretty people, that had grown and developed into a feeling almost too strong for David to contain. Despite having countless entanglements in the past, he wasn’t sure he’d ever felt anything as wholly consuming as his feelings for Patrick.

And really, that had been why he was so open to restarting his… whatever with Jake; not because he was interested in Jake in particular but more because he knew that could be the exact distraction he needed. Jake didn’t require feelings. In fact, he usually preferred as few feelings as possible. It was about pleasure and satisfaction, not everlasting love or any of that junk.

That junk was too closely tied with Patrick in his head. A small part of David hoped that banging one out with Jake (or two or three) would overshadow all of that and calm him down a bit. Just a way to scratch an itch, to take his mind off his ill-fated crush. The rest of David knew that what he felt for Patrick wasn’t going to just go away after some sex with Jake, but it was worth a try, wasn’t it? If this was the only way to move past it, he had to give it a shot.

Patrick’s scoff brought David back to the conversation, “So it was that inconsequential to you, huh?”

“Patrick, I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about,” David was almost pleading with Patrick to take a little bit of mercy on him.

“I asked you out on your birthday, and you invited Stevie to our date. I got the hint fairly quickly.” Patrick crossed his arms tightly, protecting himself. David hated that he honed in on how wonderful that move made Patrick’s forearms look, muscles visible through the arms of his blue button-up.

“That was a date?!” David’s ears were ringing and the room seemed to be just a bit out of focus.

Patrick stood staring, with his mouth hanging open for a few seconds, growing redder and redder, “You… you didn’t know?”

“No! You never said anything! I thought it was just a friendly birthday dinner. I invited Stevie so  _ I  _ wouldn’t get swept up in it all and think it was a date. How was I supposed to know you were even interested?” David’s hands were flying all over the place, a physical embodiment of the anxiety and confusion he felt.

“David, I have found so many ways to get closer to you! So much of my motivation since meeting you has been to be near you, to  _ support _ you. I thought it was obvious.” Patrick looked almost insane as he scrubbed a hand over his face, still rooted to the spot but practically vibrating out of his skin.

David fully abandoned the sweater he had been absentmindedly refolding at the beginning of this conversation (and then abandoned to use his hands for emphasis) to make his way to the register. As much as he wanted to reach out to Patrick, to grip his shoulder, or steady his hand, he didn’t want to overwhelm him further.

“I didn’t know. I swear I didn’t know.”

“So you didn’t invite someone on our date as a way to let me down easy?” The raw hope in Patrick’s eyes cut through David, telling him all he needed to know about Patrick’s true feelings.

David tried to hide his smile, which only pushed it to one side of his face, and shook his head, “I didn’t know it was a date. Trust me, if I had, I would not have invited Stevie. And I would have dressed up more. Oh God, you wore a blazer!”

“No, David, you looked wonderful! I just got over-excited and reverted back to what I would have done in high school, hence the blazer. I felt kind of silly in it as the night progressed.” Patrick reddened at the memory.

“You looked very handsome,” David delighted in the soft laugh that drew from Patrick, “If I had known it was a date, I would have treated it as a date. No third party, no casual sweater. I would have held your hand and kissed you goodnight.”

He didn’t want to admit that he would have spent the night glued to his phone, hoping that Patrick would contact him. He couldn’t tell him that he’d have been planning a second date before the first had even ended. David had been overeager in his previous relationships, and it only led to his heart getting broken. As much as he wanted to gush the full extent of his feelings to Patrick, he couldn’t risk scaring him away and losing something he so desperately wanted.

“David,” It was soft and reverent, almost like a prayer pulled from Patrick’s lips, “I know it’s too much, but I really like you. I’ve really liked you since that first day, and it’s only grown. When I thought you weren’t interested, I… obviously I respected it, but it kind of broke my heart.”

Oh. Maybe Patrick wasn’t like the people from his past who didn’t want his emotions. Maybe David feeling so much for him was actually a good thing. Maybe they were on the same page.

Slowly, cautiously, David placed a hand on Patrick’s shoulder, right where it met his neck. The muscle there was tense, but it immediately relaxed a bit at the touch. Emboldened, he mirrored the touch with his other hand, and Patrick gave a small sigh of relief. 

“I… am very interested in you, Patrick.” It was a simple statement, but it laid David bare. 

The last time he had been so candid about his feelings, the girl he had been dating told him he was coming on too strong and stole his hairdryer before breaking up with him. He’d been 15, new to the game, and learned quickly that he was better off aloof; a big declaration of love would only exist in the rom-coms he loved to watch. Each subsequent partner had chipped away a bit more at him until he closed himself off to prevent further damage. This town, and the people in it, had slowly been breaking down those walls and rebuilding him piece by piece, perhaps no one more than Patrick.

Speaking of Patrick, David’s words had made him simply radiant. His hands had settled, a bit tentatively, on David’s waist, and he was smiling wide and bright at his admission, “Mm, that’s too bad that you have a date tonight with someone else.”

David lightly squeezed his shoulders, “Oh that? Something came up, I think I’m gonna have to cancel.”

“Got a better offer?”

“Absolutely.”

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to find me on Tumblr at [theswiftiewholived](https://theswiftiewholived.tumblr.com/)! I just yell into the void about whatever I want, and sometimes it's actually worthwhile!


End file.
